Little is known about what Lone Star did in 1920 before accepting the head coaching job for Purdue in early 1921. What is known is that he had no means to defend himself in the retrial—the first trial ended with a hung jury—and pled nolo contendere to a charge of falsifying his draft questionnaire. He entered the Spokane County jail to serve his 30 day sentence on January 8, 1920 and spent half of his sentence as a trusty. His trial and incarceration were covered by newspapers across the country but, then as now, most newspapers got it wrong by stating he pled guilty. The Greeley Tribune sarcastically commented on the trivial sentence by stating, “The next move is for Mr. Baker to give him the distinguished service cross.” Newton D. Baker was Secretary of War under President Woodrow Wilson.
However, few papers reported on Lone Star’s release after completing his sentence. Several newspapers not previously scanned have been added to the archives over the two decades since I researched Dietz’s life. At that time, nothing was found about his activities after being released from jail and accepting the head coaching position at Purdue nearly a year later. That has changed. A few new tidbits have been found on the pages of the more recently scanned papers.
The Anaconda Standard mentioned that he was a trusty the last two weeks of his confinement. Nearly a year later, The Seattle Star had him “…playing behind the footlights in Woodward’s New York theater.” The Wichita Beacon added that he “…also appeared on the stage in vaudeville a number of times…” The Spokesman Review included a first-hand interview, “John Jones, former graduate manager of athletics at Washington State, recognized Dietz on a stage in Washington, D.C., last October, and afterwards met him at his hotel. At that time Dietz, who was playing under a stage name, expressed a desire to remain incognito and Jones respected his wishes in this matter. His appearance in the New York theater, however, resulted in his discovery.”
Now we have more information about what Dietz was doing in the period after his release from jail in February 1920 and his signing with Purdue in March 1921. He was discovered acting under a stage name in October 1921 but was likely on the vaudeville circuit months earlier. He may have taken bit parts in movies as he had done earlier.
Now to find out what he was doing after leaving Rice Lake High School in 1901 and enrolling at Macalester College in September 1902.
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